This month's Bold-Heart is the host of the very first podcast I ever found a couple of years back, Wellness Wonderland Radio. It seems perfect (though totally coincidental) that this interview follows on from my post on my favourite podcasts a short while ago. Katie has been carving a path in the seemingly overcrowded online personal growth world as a young woman ready to share the message of health and happiness in way that no one else can - simply by being herself. Having overcome her own body-related struggles and an eating disorder she now "helps women develop a positive relationship with food and their body image by embracing a spiritual connection of their own understanding". I love that last bit: "a spiritual connection of their own understanding." Much less intimidating (and potentially off-putting) than white robes, stiff backs, a bald head or chanting beneath the moon, right?

// The Big and Bountiful //

1.Share with us a short story of personal triumph (big or small) and what limiting beliefs you had to dismantle along the way.

I used to believe my worth was completely tied up in how my body looked. I didn’t think I had anything awesome to offer the world so I my only chance for validation and to be seen was through my physical body. So I made my body my masterpiece instead of making my life my masterpiece. I became obsessed with controlling my food as a way to control my life. It didn’t work. It wasn’t sustainable and it was unhealthy. I became aware of this and changed the pattern by changing the limiting belief, which was that I wasn’t good enough. I found my worth within myself not just in my body and then my entire life could become really beautiful not just my body. This is something I constantly have to remind myself of though. I often get wrapped up thinking my worth comes from external things like my body or more recently my work and how much I’m doing creatively or in my work, but really none of that matters validation comes from within and realizing that is my personal triumph.

2.What does it mean for you to live boldly from a place of love?

To me that means showing up authentically as yourself. This is the only way for you to be truly bold because pretending never feels good and even if you’re good at it people can sense something is off because they are missing the real you, which is all anyone ever wants.

3.What makes your heart sing and lights you up?

Being outside, having deep conversations with cool people, making videos, writing, speaking, acting, playing my ukulele, watching movies, making videos.

The sound of people chewing hard candies is the grossest thing ever to me. That sound of it hitting their teeth, the swashing, the sucking, and then the bite at the end…it’s something that has always irritated me.

5.What identities have you shed recently?

Being a “health nut” I held onto this as a security blanket and let it define me but I’m so over it now. I wasn’t a health nut for the right reasons, it was out of fear and a need for acceptance since I wasn’t accepting myself. I am letting go of that old idea of who I am and now just being who I am a person who enjoys green smoothie but also going out to a restaurant and just enjoying whatever sounds good because the conversation is the best part of the meal.

6.You’ve had some incredibly inspiring mentors and podcast guests. What have you learnt about reaching out to people and having the courage to connect with them?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because people ask me about this a lot and used to think this courage was something I was born with and I was always fearless at reaching out knowing that if I don’t reach out it is an automatic no and to me that felt worse than not trying. Getting rejected didn’t scare me but not reaching out felt awful to me so I had to try so I did and over time it got easier. Something to note though is that I sent a lot of emails and a lot of people did say no but many said yes, you just only see the ‘yeses’ online. I’ve learnt you have to try because you’ll be proud of yourself that you tried and you might get a yes.

7.What has been the most exciting or revealing part of writing your up-coming book on journaling?

The most exciting part is working with my editor, she’s really encouraging and most importantly so smart. She’s amazing at her job and it’s so exciting to get her feedback on how I can make the draft better by adding things in and taking out things. The most revealing part is that I started this project almost 3 years ago now when I was 22 years old so that means a lot of me has changed and matured since then so I’ve had to go back through and adjust the draft to make it more current to who I am now and add things in to deal with things I’ve had to deal with since then. It was revealing to see how much I’ve changed because I think we change so quickly all the time but especially in our 20s. The book is cool because through the tools you get to go on a journey with me into my life and you can see how I’ve used them to understand myself more deeply and you and use them to get to know yourself better like I did too.

// & Other Pieces of the Puzzle //

1.Favourite quote:

"We are what we pretend to be so be careful who you pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegut

About Katie:

Katie is a speaker, life coach, author and blogger. She loves writing and speaking about holistic wellness, personal development& spirituality on her blog, her weekly podcast WWRadio, and in her daily life. She works with women who believe happiness is dependent on their physical body, relationship status or career to help them realise that it is actually within them and that external trappings of success are merely a byproduct of their internal state. She helps women develop a positive relationship with food and their body image by embracing a spiritual connection of their own understanding. Get her free Quick Start Guide here.